On Women's Day, NSRI 'salutes every woman' who is part of its family

CAPE TOWN - As the country marks Women's Day, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) is taking an opportunity to honour the courage and contribution of the women who serve within the organisation.

The NSRI said that from volunteers to survival swimming instructors, support staff and coxswains, women play a vital role in building safer communities along the coast and around inland waters.

The NSRI's Andrew Ingram said that 28% of NSRI volunteers were women.

"These incredible individuals volunteer their time to teach water safety, survival swimming and save lives, sometimes under challenging conditions. We salute every woman who is part of the NSRI family."

Strandfontein station commander, Nicky Whitehead: "Being a commander in sea rescue was not even a consideration when I started off as a trainee. You dont see yourself with that much responsibility. A lot of time has gone into juniors, a lot of time that could have been spent otherwise but I would do it again if I could in a second. It has been rewarding in ways that I could never imagine." 

Lifeguard operations manager, Rebecca Carter-Smith: "It does take sacrifice. It sometimes means missing your sister's birthday, it means you miss out on some very special moments but I think that's what you sign up for and you understand that sometimes missing a special moment is worth the lives that you are going to save by doing what you do."